The Simplest Way To Write The Perfect Unique Selling Proposition

Here is a very simple strategy for developing the perfect Unique Selling Proposition to differentiate your business from your competitors. I have discussed previously about how you must differentiate yourself or your brand will die. I also point out that differentiating yourself is the hidden key to real SEO.

Just to get started, the perfect USP or Unique selling proposition example out there is Dominoes Pizza, “Fresh Hot Pizza Delivered in 30 Minutes or Less, Guaranteed!” Focusing on the speed of the delivery was the opposite of most pizza joints that focused on fresh ingredients or better pizza.

Many people and companies spend lots of time and money trying to understand everything about themselves, their strengths, weaknesses, and target market, but in reality they should be focused more on their competitors.

First, let’s explain in simple terms why differentiating yourself is so important to building a brand. The human mind is like wet cement. Once you associate a name with a category, it is stuck there. Have you ever tried to change someone’s mind about their politics or religion? I bet you eventually gave up due to the futility of your efforts.

People look for shortcuts, there is just so much information we get exposed to every second of every day that we are forced to simplify any and every way we can. For this reason, it is much simpler to stick to our viewpoints than to go through the pain of changing our minds. The pain is both an ego blow, and it forces us to rethink and reconsider something we already thought about and made up our mind about. So, trying to change someones mind creates a big pain point and requires an even more compelling reason to change it. We would simply rather stick to our guns, and find a way to justify our beliefs, than to actually admit we were wrong and change.

So, now we can appreciate and agree that changing peoples minds rarely works, and is almost never worth the effort. So, what’s the trick? We need to find a way to sneak into someones mind in a way that not only doesn’t try to change their mind, but actually enforces and validates their position.

So, if we associate Coke, as the Original Cola, the real thing, classic. Would pepsi be successful trying to convince us that they are the real thing? we just wouldn’t believe them. So, pepsi says, “we are the opposite of classic. We are new.” let your old foggy folks drink classic, and let us young hip guys and gals drink the the cola of the new generation.

Scope had a strong brand for mouthwash that tasted good. So, Listerine took the position that it tastes bad, but it works like medicine works. We all have memories of foul tasting medicine forced down our throats as kids. So, Listerine ran ads that said, “The Taste You Hate Twice a Day. Ask yourself this… do you think listerine is stronger than scope? I sure do, and I bet you do too.

Hertz was number one in car rentals. Would Avis succeed trying to argue that they are the best, when more people use Hertz. that wouldn’t work. so, they chose the opposite position and said, “We’re number two, so we try harder.” Enterprise came along and said, “We are the neighborhood car rental place, not the airport car rental joint.

You can differentiate yourself in many different ways, but the only way to do it is to start with understanding what consumers think about your competitors. The best place to start is with your competitors ads and messaging.

So, here is a simple exercise to give you a clear snapshot of your competitors position in peoples minds, and now you can work against it to find a way to piggyback off that existing perception and turn it into a springboard to explain why you are different.

Open up a yellow pages to your industry, or google a main search term for your industry. Now, take out a notebook and start writing down the features, advantages and benefits that your competitors advertise on their landing pages or in their yellow page ads. Every time you see the same underlying message, put a checkmark next to it. By the time you are done, you will see that 80% of your competitors are all saying the same exact thing. Now, you know what you need to position yourself against.

For example, in the Real Estate Crowdfunding space there are two core messages being promoted by everybody. The first is it Simplifies Real Estate, and the Second is Access to otherwise unavailable investment opportunities. So, if you were going to launch a real estate crowdfunding site, you will need to position yourself opposite that messaging. So, you can take the position… Real Estate Investing is Hard. We Do the Hard Work For You. Now, the value proposition is the same, but instead of trying to change peoples minds, you play into their existing perceptions and differentiate yourself.

So, the next time you are stuck trying to find a Unique Selling Proposition, simply open the phone book, or run a google search and open your competitors websites. You will quickly see that almost everyone says the same thing. The thing they think their customers want to hear. What they don’t know is that you should find something to say that is the opposite of their position, and you will end up on top.

Just look at burger king. They always trailed because their marketing was always focused on why they are better than mcdonalds, but no one believes that. If they focused on being different, than they might have taken over market leadership.

Comments

Yes I have tried to change someone’s about politics and we both argued our side until we we’re blue in the face. Of course, neither of us managed to convince the other but that’s just the point. If you can get someone on your side (for lack of a better general term) and continue to provide the best service, you will have them support you no matter what. You picked some good examples for brand differentiation and it’s very true that if you don’t differentiate yourself from the crowd, you’re company is going to die; though even Pepsi’s tagline won’t actually get me to drink the stuff unless the place doesn’t sell Coke.